UPDATE 3-Suspect in Seattle gun rampage shoots himself

May 30, 2012|Reuters

(Updates with two shootings connected; gunman shoots self)

By Laura L. Myers

SEATTLE, May 30 (Reuters) - A gunman shot three people todeath at a popular Seattle cafe on Wednesday then fled to adowntown parking lot where he killed another woman and stole hercar before shooting himself in the head as police closed in,authorities said.

The man, who was not immediately identified, was beingtreated at Harborview Medical Center following the late-morningspree, which police initially treated as separate incidents.

The burst of gun violence prompted a security alert andlockdown at several Seattle schools and city-run communitycenters in north Seattle, where residents were advised to staybehind closed doors as police searched for the suspect.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn told a news conference that thetwo slayings, following a recent rash of other shootings, hadshaken the city. He urged municipal leaders to "bring an end tothis gun violence that the city is seeing."

Authorities had no immediate explanation for the bloodshed,which they said began when the gunman opened fire at the CafeRacer, an establishment in Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood knownfor its live music.

Two men were killed outright, and three other people struckby gunfire were taken to Harborview, where one of them, a woman,died of her wounds.

None of the victims was immediately identified, but localtelevision station KIRO7 reported that some of them may havebeen musicians.

Police said the suspect fled on foot and made his way ashort time later to downtown Seattle, where he shot anotherwoman dead and drove away with her sport utility vehicle.

Police later found an SUV matching the description of thegetaway vehicle, with a handgun visible inside, in a WestSeattle neighborhood.

The suspect was gone, but officers who confronted him ashort time later saw him kneel down and shoot himself in thehead, police said.

"The man detectives believe to be the lone suspect in 4murders in 2 locations shot himself in the head when approached"by Seattle police, the police department said in a statementposted on Twitter.